Final Fantasy VIII : Looking Both Ways
by The Lionhearted
Summary: What if everything you wanted, wasn't part of the big picture and you couldn't come to terms? Squall's already complicated life is thrown into a downward spiral as his nights become restless and his dreams, haunting. *Squinoa??*


Disclaimer : I don't own FF8 or anything related. This story however, belongs to me.  
  
A/N: Hi everyone, its been a while since i've written anything but life has been kind of complicated lately. I finally have the time to continue my writing though. Enjoy, everyone!  
  
  
  
"This story is dedicated to Asher,   
who has touched my heart in a way that no one else could."  
  
  
  
  
Final Fantasy VIII  
Looking Both Ways  
  
Chapter One - Dreaming  
  
"The days are growing longer it seems."  
  
"You are weak. Rest now, my love."  
  
"I mustn't, for the fight continues nearby..."  
  
"Your wounds need time to heal, my love. Please do not push yourself any farther."  
  
"There has been a shift in power between the forces..."  
  
"Do not try to talk..."  
  
"I want you both to escape... find someplace far away to hide."  
  
"Have our hopes grown so dim that you would send away your own family?"  
  
"They have awakened Eden..."  
  
"Eden!?"  
  
  
Squall jolted himself from slumber into a sitting position, his brow covered in sweat. He looked around, seeing the familiar setting of his Balamb Garden dorm. "A... dream?" he asked himself, half expecting an answer. Sighing, he layed back down. Garden policy was to report any strange disturbance to the headmaster for later interpretation, which included odd dreams. The rules had begun to tighten substancially following the discovery of GF by renouned scientist Odine. His research throughout the years had significantly improved the quality life, but nothing could prepare the world for the shock of his research being used for military purposes. With GF, the very concept of fighting itseld was changed. The world was changing too, but for the better? Squall decided it was best not to question the experts. 'Besides,' he thought, 'I've got much more important things to worry about... like Recruitment Day tommorrow.'   
  
Recruitment day was a time of the year that both the students and staff both anticipated and dreaded. Each year on that same day, new students were initiated into the military training and schooling life of Garden. While some acted adult and matured, others showed no signs of respect for the opportunity dropped at their feet. During Recruitment Day, the headmaster would give a speech, tours would be given, and the students would be paired with a current Garden student to show them the ropes. There were always more students than there were new recruits, and Squall was hoping that the odds would shine in his favor this year. The last thing he needed was someone to babysit.  
  
Squall lay there for a few moments, replaying the dream in his mind... there was nothing too oddly significant about the dream itself, other than the fact that he rarely had dreams at all. He thought back to the last memory he had of dreaming, but could find no trace in his mind. Rather than dwell on it for much longer, he rose from his bed and turned his eyes towards the sunshine beaming through the window of his dorm. Staring at the bright weather outside for a moment, he closed his eyes and relaxed... He loved the feeling of being alone, and moments like these for some reason made him feel in control of his own life. He could have almost smiled if it weren't for the loud buzzing noise that suddenly pulled him away from his feeling of security. Squall cringed a bit, realizing that for the first time in his life - he was late for class. Sighing, he turned his head towards the sunlight coming in from his window again. "This,..." he said to himself "...is going to be a very long today."  
  
The class grew silent as renouned teachers pet and loner Squall Leonhart entered the room, his head tilted towards the ground. The instructor turned his head to him and sighed. "Mr. Leonhart,.." he began "..you are 17 minutes late. Please take your seat." Squall walked past the instructors desk, his head still lowered. "Yes instructor." he spoke firmly. A moment later he took his seat in the second row next to quite possibly his only friend - Zell Dincht. Squall stared to the ground as Zell turned his gaze over to his silent friend. "Yo Squall," Zell whispered "I can't believe you were actually late today. I guess anything is possible, right?" Squall rolled his eyes. "Whatever." Zell shook his head a bit, smiling. "You're so predictable, man... but hey, I wanted to tell you something. The instructor suddenly shot a look at Zell. "Mr. Dincht! Remain silent, or leave class! The choice is up to you." Zell slumped a bit in his chair and whispered once more to Squall. "I'll tell you about it later."   
  
Class continued on as normal for the next few hours, and a few of the students were becoming anxious to leave as the instructor had been dragging the lecture on for much longer than usual. Zell was staring out the window as he bounced his knee under the table. "God, this is taking too long..." he said as Squall continued to take notes on the lesson. Finally, the sound of a buzzer was heard through Garden and the Instructor closed the book that was in front of him. "We'll continue our lesson on status magic junctioning after recruitment day tommorrow. Now remember class, I expect those of you who will be helping new students to act adult and be as kind as possible. Show them how the ropes are here, but more importantly show them friendship. You all remember your first days here at Garden and I'm sure the welcome you were given made you feel comfortable." Squall couldn't help but roll his eyes. 'Yeah, right...' Squall thought to himself. 'I felt really comfortable. Not like it matters though.' The instructor then dismissed the student, and a wave of teenagers spilled out of the room. Squall and Zell were trailing behind the group, talking. "Ok, what I wanted to tell you about was recruitment day tommorrow." Squall remained silent and stared at the ground as they walked towards the second floor elevator. "I hitched a ride on an incoming data stream to the Garden network and took a look at the roster sheet for the new students and who will be helping each." Squall shot a look at Zell. "And I'm guessing that the idea of going against Garden Protocol didn't cross your mind once?" Zell smiled a bit. "You act all rule worthy, but even you'll be glad I checked it out once you hear this." Squall's harsh look now changed to one of curiosity. "Fine Zell, what did you learn?" Zell shined with pride as he smiled. "Well,  
it seems that Garden staff has decided not to give you responsibility over anyone this year, seeing as how last year was a total bust." Squall thought back to last year's recruitment day and the new student that he was assigned to show around. The day had started off normally enough, but later on the student had grown quite annoyed with Squall's aloof personallity and had began to run off exploring on his own. The student had later gone missing, and a search party was sent out. Three days later, the student was found dehydrated and trapped in the MD level of Garden. Apparently, he had a knack for lock picking and if one of the upper classmen had not have heard his cry for help, he could have died down there and caused a large stain in the reputation of Balamb, not to mention the entire organization of Garden. "Well, thats good news." Squall answered almost unemotionally. "I on the other hand am going to be responsible for a young girl. Funny that I somewhat know her. Ya see, it all started when I was down by the docks at Balamb and..." Squall shut him out at this point, not caring to listen to another one of his "all women see me as god" stories. Right now, Squall was busy thinking of how to report the strange dream he had to the headmaster's office.  
  
Later that day, Squall found himself standing in a line to the headmaster's receptionist's desk on the third floor of Balamb Garden. After what seemed like an hours wait, he was next in line. The student in front of him was a girl with a ponytail. Squall remembered her initiation to Garden last year at recruitment day. 'She's easy to point out in a croud with that physique...' he thought to himself, more derrogatory than complimentary. "...and then, he started to take his hands and slide them down my sides and.." "Thats enough!" The receptionist cut off the girl explaining what probably was a dream, although he hadn't really been listening. The girl blushed slightly and walked away. 'Apparently,' Squall thought to himself '...she hasn't been informed that -those- dreams aren't required to be reported.' although even Squall found a small bit of humor in the situation. Finally, he approached the receptionist's desk. "Purpose of visit?" the young woman at the desk asked. "Dream report, ma'am." Squall replied. Squall then began to explain the dream in detail, finding some surprise at how the woman's ears perked up whenever he said the word "Eden". Once he finished reporting, he stood there and watched as the woman crossed her T's and dotted her i's on the pad she was holding. Obviously, he had struck a nerve if she had begun to record everything. "Thank you very much, Mr. Leonhart. I'll be sure to let the headmaster know of your expierience." Squall was then dismissed and made his way out of the office and back to the elevator to the first floor of Garden.  
  
After reaching his dorm and changing out of his school uniform, Squall lay in bed staring out the window. The sunlight was beginning to dim outside, the sky slowly turning a gentle shade of red. Squall struggled not to smile at the sight, seeing any form of emotion as a sign of weakness. Although somewhat controlled by himself inwardly, Squall took a deep breath as he enjoyed the view from his dorm room. He wondered, would he dream again tonight? After his experiences today and the upcoming events tommorrow, he needed a pleasant night's sleep. With those fleeting thoughts Squall pulled the covers around him and turned his back to the window, closing his eyes and letting the fatigue take him into slumber.  
  
  
  
End Chapter One  
  
  
A/N: So, what doed everyone think so far? This story is based offhandedly on my current day life, and I'll try to make this a captivating story. I promise, the coming chapters will get much more interesting as there will be an underlying meaning to each. Send all comments to raidenanthony@netscape.net! 


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